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How did you spend Thanksgiving?
We celebrated the birth of two newborns, one to our niece, one to a friend who grew up best friends with our daughter. Then another niece caught COVID. She’s a Physical Therapist and caught it at work in a local Tucson hospital. She’s isolating in her bedroom, is symptomatic, and relying on loved ones to leave food and other things she needs. And my bride and I spent time with her 99-year-old mom, distanced in our backyard enjoying the weather, food, and each other. It is certainly a unique year.
Thanks to Jim Hannley for organizing a Go Fund Me for John C. Scott to help defray costs associated with the care and eventual passing of his wife Amy Ulm. If you’d like to help out, please copy this link into your browser:
Blue Light Recognition
The Chief Nursing Executive at Memorial Healthcare System in South Florida last week was quoted in the NY Times saying “Our people are tired. They’re tired and they don’t see an end in sight.” I mentioned my niece in the opening. Health care workers all over the Country are tired, and peoples’ behavior is prolonging this pandemic.
This is a graphic I pulled from the Kaiser Health News/Guardian report called Lost on the Frontline. It shows the breakdown of health care workers who have died as a result of COVID they contracted while on the job.
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As of last weekend, there were 268 reported deaths among U.S. health care workers they’re attributing on-the-job causes. These are people who died while trying to save the lives of others. Here are a few – which I include so they’re not simply numbers. Note the ages. COVID is taking lives of people who are in their prime.
I was in a Zoom last week where neighbor Ellen shared that her daughter – a local nurse – contracted COVID while on the job here in Tucson. Now both she and her husband are struggling through it.
These blue light openings are to show support for our health care workers and first responders who are out in the community on the front lines working to save lives. We at the Ward 6 office continue to be grateful for your commitment to others.
UA Ringing Hollow
Late last week the UA COVID-19 Modeling Team sent a letter to the AZDHS. In it they said, “if action is not immediately taken, then it risks a catastrophe on a scale of the worst natural disaster the State has ever experienced.” In addition, Associate Professor in the UA College of Public Health Joe Gerald said, “It’s shaping up to make Christmas, the end of December, just a terrible time not only in Pima County, but the State as well.” I hope Joe doesn’t lose his job for speaking the truth.
Late last fall, the athletics department #2 guy called me aside and told me he felt I had a “conflict of loyalty.” Evidently there’s a divide between what’s good for the UA and what’s good for the community. It reminds me of the old saw ‘What’s good for GM is what’s good for the Country.’ I don’t buy into either proposition.
Since March I’ve been advocating for the UA to mandate testing for all students taking classes at the school. That is whether they live on or off campus. During a recent virtual meeting I had with a group, the question was asked ‘what’s the point of demanding testing?’ I’m sorry that this deep into the pandemic that’s still a question. Number 1, it allows the person who’s infected to isolate. Number 2, it allows the health professionals to contact trace and advise the people the COVID carrier has been in contact with to also get tested, and to isolate if their test comes back positive. They’re also supposed to quarantine for a period of time as the virus becomes detectable. Number 3, it allows us to identify hot spots – such as the UA – and it allows the health professionals to conduct targeted mitigation strategies. All of that leads to controlling community spread. The group I was addressing chose not to write the UA in support of my position. As MLK said, ‘in the end we’ll remember the silence of our friends.’
In January the UA will be inviting 40,000 students back into the community. If what Joe Gerald and the UA COVID Modeling team say is correct – and it is – then the UA needs to do what I’ve been advocating for; mandate testing, not just for kids taking classes in-person, but for all students they’re inviting back into this community, paying tuition to matriculate and benefit from the education the UA is offering. When I pointed out they were missing the 35,000 students living in off-campus housing, the UA President said they have no authority over that group, and did not do anything with them until I, with Pima County’s financial backing began testing and demonstrated the obvious; student high rises are COVID hot spots.
Responsible public health is a part of the education the UA should be inviting students back to participate in. That is neither pandering, nor is it unconstitutional.
Glass Crushing
Quick note on the glass crushing operation I’m operating here at the W6 office. The Star story that ran on Saturday did a nice job of outlining how this will wind down but will also ramp up on a larger scale. You may continue to bring your glass bottles to us, leaving them out behind the garage. We haul them in every day. Soon though you’ll see a large ‘glass only’ bin out back. When you do, please place the bottles inside of that.
There will be 3 virtual public meetings in January where our Environmental Services team will share the details of the new program. Those will be held on Tuesday, January 12th at 5:30pm, Friday, January 15th at 10am, and Thursday, January 21st at 6:30pm. They’ll contain the same information, so you won’t need to sit in on more than one.
I’ll include the links to those meetings as soon as they’re published. Thanks for taking part in this work. Tucson will be a leader in changing how glass is being recycled/reused, and all of you who have embraced this pilot project can, well, raise a toast to yourself – then bring me the empty.
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Be Kind
The Be Kind this week is another dual recognition. One is for all the workers at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Institute for their work in animal conservation. In this case it’s in support of Giant Pandas.
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This is Xiao Qi Ji (Shaow Shi Gee) on the left- the new panda cub they’re helping mama raise at the D.C. zoo. She was 3 months old last week. The name is Mandarin for ‘little miracle.’ Xiao Qi Ji is 9.2 lbs. and is 21.26” from nose to tail. My niece Lisa had a baby last week that was 6 lbs. and a little over 20” tall. So, the two are starting out at pretty close to the same size. While they share similar habits now (napping, nursing and cuddling with mom), my guess is that Lisa’s baby Lyla won’t end up quite as hefty as Xiao will. Also, they’ll probably enjoy a very different diet. I’m not sure Lyla will be munching many bamboo shoots.
Animal conservation is just one of the many great programs the Reid Park zoo is involved with. Check out their work by going to www.reidparkzoo.org.
The second part of the Be Kind is for Sam Hughes neighbor Susan, along with all those from the neighborhood who put together a Care Package for the migrant families who are passing through the Alitas Center out at the County facility.
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I ran across this photo on the right in a NY Times article about the continued Central American migration.
We’ll never see this mom and her kid at the Alitas Center. She’s from Venezuela, was trying to make a new life in Columbia, and then the virus hit. She’s now trying to find her way back to her home. They’re lying on the ground outside of a bus stop along that route. I share it because it depicts the same sort of travel challenges all of the families who arrive at Alitas have encountered. Once at Alitas, they receive food, clothing, and supplies such as those Susan delivered to the Ward office last Friday morning.
The needs will continue. If you want to donate, we’re looking for the small size personal hygiene items; sunscreen, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc. – and hand sanitizer. These items will be included in the travel bags the families are given before getting on the bus here in Tucson. We appreciate all the Sam Hughes generosity. And I’d add, we had friend Angie bring by supplies last week from her home over on the Southwest side of Tucson. These are acts of Kindness done without any expectation of recognition – and deserving of some none the less.
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To set the stage for the next few sections, this graphic shows what we’ve experienced in Pima County since COVID began in March. November is by far the worst infection month since the beginning. Fearless prediction – December will be worse due to the activities we saw over Thanksgiving, and January will be a strong contender due to what we’ll likely see over Christmas.
We have an agreement in place with the State whereby when they give us 2 weeks’ notice we must turn the TCC into an alternate care facility. Based on the increase in numbers, and on our inability to guarantee Gem Show operators that won’t happen, we’ve lost 2 major shows, and others are thinking about pulling out of the ‘21 Show.
In Pima County, positivity rates a month ago had reached around 3%. Now they’re at or exceeding 10%. With that reality, some policy changes are being requested at the State level and are being implemented here at the local level. I’ll share those below.
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COVID Fatality Rates
As the case numbers increase significantly, the fatalities have been decreasing. That’s not at all to suggest both the short- and long-term impacts of this virus are not significant. But it is good that we’re not losing as many people at this time as we did say back in July. Our friend Monique who compiles much of this data over in the County Administrator’s office worked a little O.T. for me and provided this summary for Pima County COVID deaths. It’s ok – Huckelberry will pay her.
Until this month, July was the high water mark for new cases, and for deaths. Now November has surpassed July for cases, but as you can see, fewer of those cases are resulting in a fatality than before. I did a little exploring through the research to see if there’s any clue as to why.
There seem to be several factors that are playing possible roles in the reduction in COVID deaths. Even with these though, nobody in the medical community that I’ve run across is suggesting we ignore the significant potential long term impacts of the virus. Just because you don’t die doesn’t mean you may not suffer other health impacts that could last a lifetime.
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One speculation is that it’s younger groups who are now contracting the disease. Early on, there was a higher percentage of seniors getting sick than we’re now seeing. Here are the current age data on the right.
Couple that with the fact that many of us are now doing a better job of masking up and distancing when around seniors. Everyone has learned, and behaviors have changed. And those who do end up hospitalized are receiving better treatments than earlier in this pandemic. So that has also altered the fatality rates.
Early in the year much of the testing was focused on symptomatic people. Now, with the expansion of testing, asymptomatic people are finding out earlier in the progression of the disease that they need medical help. And some of the tests now being administered are more sensitive than earlier, so experts are discovering COVID both earlier, and at a less intense infection state. Add to that the use of masks now on a much wider scale. That reduces the amount of virus people may be exposed to, which reduces the intensity of the disease.
From my reading on this it’s clear there are several, independent factors that are helping reduce the fatality rate. And many revolve back to the basics we’ve been told, and that sadly many people are still resisting; wear a face covering, distance yourself from others, and self isolate if you have symptoms – get tested and wait in isolation for the results.
One final factor that is germane to the increase in cases. The care we receive while in the hospital is directly tied to the stress the staffing is working under. We hear about ‘the system’ becoming overwhelmed. The ‘system’ is people. And when people become overwhelmed, they don’t operate as effectively as if they’re fresh. I opened with a note about how our health care workers continue to be impacted by the increase in cases. Each of us has a responsibility to reduce the stress on the ‘system’ - the people providing care. Please do your part.
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Eviction Tsunami
Kirsten Engle is head and shoulders one of the best State legislators we have. Those of you who supported her, nice work! Last week she joined 3 other State Senators in advocating with Governor Ducey for some significant changes in how the State is dealing with evictions. The moratorium on evictions ends at the end of December. The research firm Stout Risius Ross projects that nearly 120,000 renters in Arizona are at risk of being evicted as a New Year’s gift if policy changes are not made.
The other 3 Senators included Andres Cano, Lela Alston and Sean Bowie. In their letter to Ducey they indicate that fully 55% of all renters in Arizona, and over 62% of renters with incomes below $35,000 are at least “somewhat likely” to be evicted within the next 2 months. To proactively address that, they’re suggesting the following steps be taken:
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On January 1st, extend the eviction moratorium for another 90 days
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Add another $10M to the Rental Assistance Trust Fund (this is the fund the State uses to make landlords whole when faced with a tenant who cannot make the payment.)
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Simplify the eligibility criteria and authorize landlords to make the application. Some of the changes include easing up on the list of documents required to apply, letting the landlord make the application based on a declaration statement from the tenant, and enabling a one-month forward payment so they’ve got some breathing room.
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Prioritize payments to small business landlords from the Rental Property Owners Preservation Fund. Adding more dollars to that fund will help save small businesses.
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And one of the most important ones for me is making it a condition of receiving the funds that the landlords shall not evict the tenants. If they’re getting support from the State, don’t take the money and then evict the people anyway.
CNBC reported on the effects evictions are having on the spread of COVID. From research done at UCLA, UCSF, Johns Hopkins, Boston University and Wake Forest School of Law, the data shows when State eviction moratoriums are lifted, both infection rates and fatalities increase. Their study shows from March through September, over 400,000 excess cases of COVID, and more than 10,000 additional deaths occurred Nationwide. That human collateral damage is what can be avoided if the State acts on these recommendations. If you’d like to see the full CNBC report, use this link: https://www-cnbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/11/27/evictions-have-led-to-hundreds-of-thousands-of-extra-covid-cases-.html
It’s up to Ducey as to whether or not any of those suggestions will be implemented. If you’re so inclined, please reach out to his office, and to others in the State Legislature and encourage action. These evictions will happen if nothing is done, and quickly.
Housing Maintenance COVID Protocols
Also in response to the increasing COVID numbers, our Housing Department sent out new maintenance protocols last week. These aren’t things you’ll see or hear about, but I include them here to share some of the real behind the scenes changes people are making as we all share in the impacts COVID is having on our regular day to day activities.
When Housing maintenance and repair staff arrive at a unit needing assistance, they are to confirm by phone that none of the occupants have had flu-like symptoms over the past 14 days. That includes elevated temps, sore throat, cough – the things we see on the news to be wary of each night. In addition, confirm by phone before entering that nobody in the unit has tested positive for COVID in the past 2 weeks, or has been in close contact with known positive cases for extended periods of time. They’re not to enter if any of those gets a ‘yes’ response.
Our maintenance staff is then to wash their hands or use sanitizer prior to entering. Also, wear gloves, face cover and booties. Avoid touching their face, nose or mouth. Ask household members to physically distance throughout the visit. Disinfect the area they’re working in both before and after doing the repairs. And properly dispose of their PPE when they leave. And ‘gel out’ - wash hands/sanitize when they leave.
It’s not the ‘olden days’ when the plumber just came in, worked and left. These precautions are all intended to help curb the spread of COVID. They’re a pain – but they’re necessary.
New Parks Restrictions
Just as we were getting used to being able to use the parks amenities again, we’ve got to shut some of them down. Effective immediately, all ramadas will be closed through the end of the year. Anyone who had a reservation is being contacted about their options for credit or a refund. Also, you may have seen the County canceled over 150 in-coming sports activities two weeks ago. Similarly, the City will not be scheduling fields or other athletic venues for games or tournaments. There are a few on the books which can continue, but with no spectators. And none of the ones being held may involve any interstate travel.
Up on ‘A’ Mountain we’ve recently seen an increase in visitors gathering in large groups. This is primarily happening in the evenings. I get it – it's a great place to visit after sundown. But not right now. Starting now the Park hours are being changed. Instead of being from sunrise to 8pm, they are now sunrise to closing 30 minutes after sunset. This will be enforced, so please help us by just heading down the hill when the sun starts to go down. And please do not gather in groups of more than 10.
Please continue using the dog parks, skate parks and playgrounds. But also, please distance, wear a mask and stay in small groups. If the numbers don’t radically change, we may have to reassess those activities as well.
Pima County Health has issued guidelines requesting groups of 10 people, or fewer, distancing at least 6’ apart from anyone you don’t live with, stay home if you’re showing any symptoms, and get yourself tested if you have any concerns whatsoever. The City still has our mask mandate for everyone over the age of 5 if you’re in a public space where you cannot socially distance. So much of this is trusting people to act in support of one another, and for the greater good. Please help your neighbor by doing your part.
In contrast, Great Britain last week said they’re easing up on restrictions so people can come together and celebrate Christmas. I suspect groups are making their plans even today for Christmas bashes. In a move that defies logic, political leaders in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have announced that from December 23rd through December 27th, people can move around as they wish, regardless of whatever local restrictions are in place. We’ve all heard of ‘COVID fatigue.’ Perhaps across the pond they’re thinking it’s the virus that’s wearing out, and that led to this stupid decision.
People moving from one place to another from Northern Ireland will be given an extra day to travel at both ends of the grace period. Members of up to 3 households – no size limit that I could find – can gather and travel together. At least they’ve kept restrictions on those groups not getting together in bars or restaurants during that holiday period.
UA COVID Update
Last week’s press briefing by Robbins/Carmona didn’t contain anything particularly new. They did announce they were offering a free Thanksgiving dinner to both on and off-campus students who registered by a certain time last week. No COVID test was required to qualify, and they had no trouble including the off-campus cohort in the gift.
The UA reiterated that they’ll be requiring everybody who comes onto campus ‘for in-person classes’ in January to show a negative COVID test result. No evident concerns over constitutionality for the off-campus students. Right now, the plan is to offer in-person classes for groups of up to 50. That’s subject to change if the COVID numbers don’t improve. And in the event they have to go all virtual again, that would mean nobody living off campus will have to test. The UA has invited roughly 35,000 students to live out in our community. They take responsibility for those living in on-campus dorms.
This is the graphic shared during the briefing. It demonstrates the continued increase in infections. Hospital capacity is becoming more and more of a concern. With the daily increases in COVID infections, the hospital situation is dynamic – it changes by the day. Many jurisdictions are now requesting additional staff from other areas. The response for providing them is now 3-4 weeks. Even if the equipment supply is fine, staffing is becoming more and more of a National concern.
Many students have now left for the remainder of the semester. No tests were required prior to travel, and none are being required by the UA prior to them returning in January – or this month if they choose to return early.
Working in cooperation with the Tucson Airport Authority, Pima County Health now has voluntary testing stations set up out at the airport. Snowbirds – please test when you arrive and be prepared to self-isolate until you get the results.
COVID Trends in Arizona
On November 19th, Dr. Christ, State Health Director issued her own Executive Order for schools. That’s just what we need. Another person unilaterally setting policy. In this case, the policy is for masking up on public and charter school campuses. It makes sense, but I am so done with this form of decision making. We continue to see it Nationally, at the State and Local levels. Anyway, here’s the operative part of the Order:
It’s interesting that she did this for schools when we’re not seeing any significant COVID outbreaks in the public school system, but the Governor won’t do a Statewide mandate, even as we are seeing the numbers explode throughout Arizona.
She’s got some exceptions built in for kids 2 years and under (I didn’t know 2-year-olds went to school) for where social distancing can be accomplished, and for high intensity activities where a mask might inhibit breathing. Otherwise, everyone inside our schools is now to be wearing a face covering. Regardless of the process, the policy reflects where we are with respect to the virus.
I’m going to keep this April Arizona map in the newsletter for a while. I want us to remember where we were when the Governor first instituted the shelter in place Statewide Executive Order. We are in a significantly worse place now. And do not expect movement from Phoenix to control the spread beyond encouraging people. Similar to the UA ‘encouraging’ students to get tested. Some do, some don’t. We’re all impacted by those individual decisions.
With that, compare the March map (above) with today’s (below):
What’s Happening at Colleges Around the Country
The U Tennessee was hit by COVID last week. Their head basketball coach and athletics director and both tested positive. The basketball team has paused all team activities. And the school chancellor entered into self-isolation after having come into close contact with someone who had tested positive. She later tweeted that her initial test result was negative. That's good – but this virus did not get the memo that basketball season needed to start, and to stand down during the holiday.
I’ve written plenty about how the virus has impacted the State of Wisconsin, and in particular at college campuses throughout the State. A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper was issued that combined smartphone-mobility data with positive case counts. They determined that students in two of the hardest hit dorms were tracked to a nearby group of bars at a higher rate than students who lived farther away, and who had significantly fewer cases. In short, the cluster of bars appeared to be a determining factor in rates of infection. Think Main Gate, 4th Avenue and downtown as it relates to the UA and off-campus testing.
Scott Atlas is a Senior Fellow at the Stanford Hoover Institute. Recently Atlas tweeted out a call for people to “rise up” against the COVID restrictions imposed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. He also discouraged the use of masks, and he promoted herd immunity (let’s all get sick so we become immune) as a strategy to deal with the pandemic. In response, the Stanford Faculty Senate passed a Resolution condemning Atlas, saying the statements do not represent the school’s position. Calling on Stanford leadership to ‘forcefully disavow Atlas’ actions as objectionable,’ the Resolution was passed with 85% support. I’d have been happy just to get a 2nd to my motion to pass a non-binding testing Resolution aimed at the UA.
Speaking of the UA Resolution, now the U Florida is going to make COVID testing mandatory for students who live on campus, take classes on campus, and who live in Greek houses. They'll all be required to take a saliva test (like the ones I was involved in helping administer to off-campus UA students) every other week when they report back in January. No mention of constitutionality. And when the UA sent their guy to lobby the Mayor and City Council against my Resolution, I mentioned that Clemson was one school already doing mandatory testing. They instituted it as soon as the numbers began to rise. Between Clemson and the U Florida, they’ve reported more than 5,000 cases each. The NY Times COVID update (link at the end of this newsletter) reports that over 1,700 institutions have logged at least 321,000 cases combined since the pandemic began earlier this year.
Two more college campus COVID fatalities to report this week. One was a 70-year-old faculty member at Collin College. They’ve already lost one student, but the death of Iris Meda was buried in the 22nd paragraph of a Zoom meeting report.
Iris (left) was a nurse who came out of retirement to return to teaching at Collin College. Many of the other faculty members feel her death was treated as an oversight and not given the attention it deserved. In that same paragraph, near the end of the statement it was reported that another faculty member had been hospitalized. Downplaying the virus’ impacts doesn’t make them go away. Colleagues of Ms. Meda have started a Go Fund Me to help pay for expenses. Oh, the report was titled “College Update & Happy Thanksgiving.”
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23-year-old Jamesha Waddell (right) died last week from COVID complications. She was a senior at Livingstone College.
Jamesha tested positive and began quarantining at home. While there, her symptoms worsened – she was hospitalized and ultimately passed away. I began with the age-related data and a few comments on how the death rates may be declining since a higher percentage of the new cases are among young people. They are not immune from significant, even deadly impacts. Jamesha is only the most recent example.
And heading in a different direction, the U Alabama is planning to require all students, faculty and staff to learn and work in-person when campus reopens on January 7th. Cash is king. Unless they can provide a medical excuse, under the current plan students can be punished for not attending classes in person. And faculty and staff will be required to be in person when the campus reopens. The plan could change if, for example the transmission rate of COVID increases in the Tuscaloosa area between now and January. They might want to consider the impact of students traveling back to school from other areas and give this plan a rest until those impacts work their way through their local system. But that would require mandatory testing which some have unfounded constitutional questions over.
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Genna Update
I checked in with Genna’s mom last week and learned that the planned “Motion Hearing” for her case is going on today, Monday the 30th. It’s hopefully the final step before the actual trial on her killing takes place in March.
Genna’s live-in returned to their house after having been drinking, and within 30 minutes after arriving he had shot and killed her. TPD initially charged him with the killing, but the Pima County Attorney’s office refused to prosecute. After 8 years and lots of work trying to get her justice, the trial is coming back to the Court.
From the night of the incident up through today this has torn the hearts out of Genna’s family and friends. One example of the disgraceful way this was handled is the attitude of one detective who was on the scene. When Genna’s mom said they needed to go to the hospital to see Genna, the guy said “she’s in a sealed body bag, so you can’t see her until we get there anyway. We should be there by about 10. Then you can see the body.” It wasn’t a ‘body’ the family wanted to see. It was their daughter. One ounce of compassion would have gone a long way at that moment. So many parts of this story need to be told, but first we need the trial and justice for Genna.
The purpose of a ‘motion hearing’ is for each side in the case to try to frame the way the trial will go. One effort will likely be the defense side asking to have the case dismissed. If there is any justice left in our system, that motion should be denied and the trial should go forward.
It was comforting to hear that Genna’s mom had been asked about the case by a total stranger whom she met a while back. Simply based on a description of the case, the person said she had been following it, and joined in hoping for a proper outcome. I want to keep this case in front of you until we have a final verdict. I’ve been very public in my contention that ‘accidents will happen’ cannot be the position of the Pima County Court system when the result is the death of a young mom who had done nothing remotely to deserve that outcome. The calendar is moving ahead towards the March trial.
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Local Tucson: Business Imposters
This week’s Local Tucson is probably not really solely a local issue, but it’s here, so I’m sharing it.
Last week I was contacted by one of the large contractors I’ve worked with for several years on UA projects. Yes, at least those relationships are still good. The message was that there are imposters posing as company employees, reaching out to vendors who owe the company for products or services, and instructing the unsuspecting vendor to redirect payment to an other-than-usual accounting protocol. In effect, somebody is intercepting payments due to the contractor.
While this is happening to some of our local contractors, it’s not just being targeted to the construction industry. Why am I mentioning it here? Because we have local business operators all over the City and County who maybe should keep a close eye in their Accounts Receivables – or reach out to their vendors and let them know about the scam.
Here’s how it works – I'm omitting the company name, but including the verbatim description from the email they shared with me:
Specifically, imposters, through public information, learn of the business relationship between an owner and X Company, and sometimes learn the names of the individuals in each other’s accounting departments. The imposter creates an email domain name that is similar to X Company’s legitimate email domain. The imposter then sends an email from the illegitimate email account, posing as an employee of X Company that requests that the account instructions for payment be changed. The requests typically provide an alternate EFT or wiring instructions to an account created and controlled by the imposter.
An EFT is an Electronic Fund Transfer portal that many businesses use so their vendors can easily transfer money due straight into their account. It seems COVID has not eliminated the creative dishonesty that’s out there.
In today’s Be Kind I wrote about neighbors giving to those in need. It’s sad that the Local Tucson item is about people ripping off others. Be aware.
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Harvard Global Health
Last week I shared the Harvard risk assessment for the State of Arizona. This week, there’s no change. The entire State is in the Red, which indicates the Governor should be issuing an emergency Stay at Home order. He won’t, so each of us must assess what’s going on and make our own individual decisions.
The Red risk level means everyplace in Arizona is a hot spot. Lots of people I’ve spoken with did Thanksgiving right; small groups, outdoors, distanced. And millions traveled. Not to be a broken record, but the virus sets the rules. We’ll see the logical and predictable result of all that travel about the time people are making their plans to travel for Christmas. And about the time the Mayor and City Council are holding their in-person budget retreat. I’ll be providing my input to the City Manager ahead of the meeting, and none of my staff will be there in-person. It runs contrary to what we’re asking of you.
The Pima County Health portal shows the zip code with the highest infection rate is now 85706 – in the south side of the City.
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And the UA area is now a close 2nd - not a matter of bragging rights.
For the NY Times data sets, use this link:
The State Department of Health site is at this link: www.azdhs.gov.
Here’s the UA daily update link. www.covid.arizona.edu. When it opens, click ‘See Latest Updates’ and it’ll take you to a screen with the updated data.
Sincerely,
Steve Kozachik
Council Member, Ward 6
ward6@tucsonaz.gov
City of Tucson Resources
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